Olympian Chronicles: The Forgotten Hope
by Sapphire-Raindrop
Summary: 'Seven half-bloods will answer the call, To storm or fire the world must fall, An oath to keep with a final breath, And foes bear arms to the doors of death.' This is the story of those seven demigods, and their journey to save their hope for the future.
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone!

Before you read this, please note that this takes place 150 years AFTER Kronos was defeated in New York. So all the demi-gods and mortals in the Percy Jackson series ARE DEAD! All of my characters (except for the gods, Grover, Rachel-Oracle and Chiron, they're all still around) are OCs. This story's purpose is to delve into my personal interpertation of Rachel Dare's prophecy at the end of the last book. So read with this in mind.

ALL IDEAS ON THE PROPHECY I HAVE THOUGHT UP **MYSELF**, AND THEY ARE MINE! PLEASE DON'T USE THESE IDEAS OR ANY CHARACTERS OF MINE WITHOUT PERMISSION! I HAVENT READ ANY STORIES INVOLVING THE NEW PROPHECY, SO IF ANYTHING IS THE SAME OR SIMILAR TO ANY OTHER STORY IT IS MERELY COINCIDENCE! :D

Thanks, and _**please, please review!**_

**

* * *

Chapter 1**

I let a deep sigh escape me as my mom fussed with my rumpled black tank-top, pulling it up so that the straps of my bra weren't showing, and frowning sternly at me when I tried to step away from her. We were standing in the entrance hallway of our small house, and a short honk told me that the taxi was waiting outside for me. My mom touched my hair, and combed through it a few times.

"Honey, your hair…"

"Ugh, Mom, c'mon!" I groaned, and her hands stoked through my long pale blonde hair once more before she finally let up, and her cheerful blue eyes shone as she smiled at me. Her hair was the same shade of blonde that mine was – the difference was that hers was wavy, and mine was as straight as a board…inherited from my dad, I suppose – only a little more weathered, a little less lustrous now that she was getting older.

My mom, Sarah Reynolds, was single still, even after having me – don't even get me started on the whole _dad_ issue…I'm so not in the mood – and she made up for the summer that I would be gone by doing this every time I left for camp. She fussed over me all morning, making me my favorite breakfast (bagels with cream cheese, and fresh cinnamon rolls) and made a deal about my hair and my clothes, fidgeting and kissing my forehead over and over again as she brushed my hair with my special brush. The brush was the prettiest thing I owned, and it was made of pure silver and sparkling crystal. It was the only thing I had to remind me of my dad…he had given it to my mom for me when I was born, and it had my name written in neat cursive on the handle.

Her eyes searched mine as I hefted my backpack onto my shoulder, and lifted my duffel-bag with all my stuff for the summer onto my other shoulder.

"Layna…you know, you could always stay with me if you want. You don't have to go to camp."

I laughed, and hugged her as tightly as I could with the bulky items on my shoulders. I breathed in the sweet smell of her perfume for one last time, smiling. You see, I had a very special relationship with my mom, and I could see why my dad had fallen in love with her.

Most people don't really like my dad because of his…dark personality that matches his pitiless job, but my mom was different in that respect. My dad told me when I was younger that there had only been two mortals who had caught his interest, and that was because both of them were unable to hold grudges. Their personalities were so pure that they could not hold any anger against someone for something that happened in the past. This was kind of funny, because the fatal flaw of my dad and all of his children – well, his only child right now is me, so I can't really throw around that _all of his children _phrase – is their tendency to hold grudges.

It was great, because I was a hard child to handle most of the time; the constant monster attacks, the dyslexia, the ADHD, and I still cringe when I remember the time that I nearly burned the house down when discovering my powers…

My mom was still looking at me expectantly, and I smiled as she brushed my hair behind my ear affectionately, the way that only mothers can.

"Mom, I want to go. Camp is cool. I wish you could visit me, but…"

My mom smiled sadly at me, and kissed my forehead. "Alright, honey…as long as you're sure." She linked an arm with mine, and we headed out the door onto the porch. My mom let my arm go after one long hug, and I waved as I lightly ran down the stone walkway, swinging around the white gatepost as I exited the creaky gate, and shut it behind me. I was about to open the door, but something made me look back.

I looked back at the small cozy house, lit by the early light of dawn, with the roses growing up the sides of the window, the stone paving the walkway up towards the porch stairs. My eyes glanced over the green grass that waved in the breeze, and the graceful willow tree. I remember glimpses of my dad visiting when I was younger; I remember faint glimpses of his proud and timeless face as he watched me bat the low swinging leaves of the willow tree in excitement, his proud smile as he watched me hack at a small dummy using a plastic sword my mom got me for my fifth birthday. I always got like this before I left for camp…I felt like I had to commit this scene to memory, in case something happened to change it all.

But I was so silly to imagine that anything would happen. Nothing had happened in the entire time I had been at camp, and I had started going there when I was eight. I was sixteen now, and if Chiron was indeed telling the truth, nothing had happened in the past century and a half. Sure, there were monsters – when _weren't _the ugly buggers trying to screw up our lives? – but everyone managed to get to camp okay, with only one death every five years or so. Why would I have any reason to believe that anything would change?

I waved one last time at my mom, who waved back with a big smile on her face, and hopped into the backseat of the taxi. I sighed as the car drove away, and it took everything I had to not turn around and stare as my house disappeared from sight as we turned the corner. I saw a glimpse of the driver, and immediately relaxed.

Argus had come to pick me up – most kids came back to camp right when school ended in June, while I waited a week to spend some time with my mom – and I smiled at him weakly as one of the many blue eyes on his neck peeked at me in between the head rest and the seat.

I sighed, rolling up the window to block out the blinding sunrise that pierced through the clouds. Apollo must be feeling happier today or something. And by _happier_, I mean happier than usual, because I swear that god is _always happy_. I don't think I've seen him angry…well, except for when the Ares cabin threw mud all over the Apollo cabin last year.

Apollo was so angry about his kids' golden cabin being sullied that he made it so that the Ares kids had one terrible (and I mean terrible as in cringe-inducing and awful to the point of violence) stuck in their head for an entire week, and they had it stuck in their heads that they were constantly humming and singing it aloud. Now, you're probably wondering, _What's so bad about having a song stuck in your head?_

Trust me; it was the most terrible week of camp, for all of us. Not only were the Ares kids unable to concentrate on bullying and breaking things, but the constant humming and singing coming from these kids that couldn't sing for _crap_ – they're the sons and daughters of the god of _war_, not the god of Britney Spears – drove the rest of us up the wall.

I leaned my head back against the seat as the tinted window blocked out the intrusive rays, and flipped out my phone to see that my mom had sent me a text already. The same text that she always sent when I left for Camp Half-Blood.

_Be safe. _

I smiled slightly, and quickly typed back a response, the same response that I sent every year.

_ I always do, Mom. _

And it's true. Even if nothing has happened in the past century in a half, there is always danger out there for people like me. Monsters are a given, but I knew that worse things were after us too.

When you're a demigod, danger could be anywhere. That's why at Camp Half-Blood, they trained you even if there was no danger. They trained you as if a war was on its way; they trained you until you dropped.

Because at any time, in any place, at any age…danger could decide to rear its ugly head, and if you wanted to survive, you had to be ready for it.

* * *

I made my way up Half-Blood Hill, Argus making his long strides beside me, both of us silent. I never had the nerve to ask, but I think that Argus had an eye on his tongue, so that prevented him from ever speaking. Seems kind of annoying, but I suppose he had been born with it, so he didn't know any other way.

It was strange, though. No monsters had attacked me on the entire journey from my home to this point. Normally, they were all over me like white on rice. But this year…there was nothing. I could sense Argus's uneasiness as his eyes flickered around, and a slight scowl formed on his face. I mean, I sure wasn't complaining, but a constant routine of battling monsters every time I tried to get into camp had been formed, and I felt a little too _normal_ as I shifted my bags so that they were more comfortable on my shoulders.

My heart lifted as the familiar pine tree came into view, and the Golden Fleece glimmered brightly on its sturdy branches. A big grin spread across my face as I started running, and Argus kept up with me easily. This was my home. Even if people still whispered about my dad behind my back, even if people teased me and tried to get under my skin mercilessly…it was my home. Where I truly belonged.

The volleyball courts were in sight beyond Big House, and if I looked to my left, I could see the ripe strawberry fields, their sweet aroma filling the air around the camp. I passed by the tree, and I patted the sturdy bark before taking off down the hill, waving back to Argus as my bags bounced on my shoulders. My hair blew behind me wildly as I almost tripped, and I

Argus smiled, and he lifted his hand in the air in farewell. The eye on his palm winked at me, and I grinned before turning back around as I got to the bottom of the gently sloping hill. Campers were already waking up, and I saw a few heading down to breakfast, chatting and laughing as they playfully pushed each other.

"Layna!"

I turned to see Chiron waving me over in his human wheelchair form, and I watched as he shuffled through the papers in his hands before walking over to where he was situated on the wooden porch. Chiron was a centaur most of the time, and my confused look made him smile as he looked up at me.

"We have some younger children arriving soon with the trainee satyr Nian, and I think that they will be much more accepting of the whole situation if I spoke to them like this." The man's eyes studied me, and a small smile crossed his face. "My, my…you've grown taller, my dear!"

"Only an inch or so…"

Chiron patted my arm kindly as he glanced back down at his papers. "Every step in your growth is an accomplishment, Layna, even if it is just an inch. Now, I'll just check you in, and you can get settled."

"Thanks, Chiron." I said with a smile, and he checked off my name before smiling back at me.

"Now, you'll want to hurry if you want to make it to breakfast. It starts in half an hour."

I nodded, and said goodbye before heading off towards the cabin area, which was across the river and past the lake and training arena. I walked quickly across the wooden bridge, hearing the beautiful river naiads chatting and giggling as they swam leisurely by. I smiled at them, but they merely whispered darkly to themselves, and one of them hid behind a bush. The others didn't smile at me, instead quickly splashing under the water so they were gone from sight.

It wasn't like I didn't expect it. It happened every year, after all. Everyone is all fun and happy until the dreaded question arises. The question that everyone has a need to ask, and the question that everyone dreads. But no one dreads it as much as me.

I smirked to myself as I crossed the river and made my way towards the circle of cabins. There were eighteen in total, and they were all numbered. Now, I could go through the original twelve all by name and go on and on about what they looked like and who they stood for, but to be perfectly honest, if you don't know this already, tough luck. I'm sure that another story describes them all perfectly well, so if you want the rundown on those original twelve, go and read Percy Jackson's story and he'll tell you. I've never really read the story myself, but my dad has plenty of stories involving Poseidon's favorite son, and I've been told enough by Grover and the Oracle to know the gist of the story.

Anyway, there are a few changes that I _will_ tell you about concerning the cabins. Ever since the Battle for Olympus – which took place one-hundred and fifty years ago, give or take a few years – there have been new additions to the cabin semicircle, and the additions lengthened it to a complete circle.

Six new gods were now being represented at camp. Here they are:

_Cabin 13: _**Hades**_ – God the Underworld_

_Cabin 14: __**Iris**__ – Goddess of Rainbows_

_Cabin 15: __**Phobos**__ – God of Fear_

_Cabin 16: __**Nemesis**__ – Goddess of Revenge and Balance_

_Cabin 17: __**Aeolus**__ – God of Wind_

_Cabin 18: __**Janus**__ – God of Gates, Doorways, Beginnings and Endings._

I stood in the center of the circle of cabins, and saw kids emerging from within their individual cabins. All of them were clean and scrubbed, and my eyes finally locked onto one cabin in particular.

Black marble made up the cabin, and there were small fires lit at the top, lighting up the number in a haunting glow. Spires sharpened to lethal points at each corner of the roof, and the wood was made of smooth wood, with a bone doorknob inlaid with a blood-red ruby. As I drew nearer to the cabin, I smiled a small smile when I saw the empty cabin before me.

And no other kids would ever fill it, because my dad only had kids with women that had those same qualities as my mom and Maria di Angelo. It was sad, but not many women had that quality, or at least, they didn't have the pure and loving nature to that quality that my mom and Maria did. Dad was quite picky, unlike someone like Aphrodite for example.

I was so very alone in my cabin, which actually scored good points for my dad, because it meant that he didn't sleep around like most of the other gods did – excepting Artemis and Hera or course, seeing as they both agreed not to not to romanticize with mortals. I was kind of proud that my dad hadn't given in to the urge to sleep around with as many mortals as possible since the pact sworn between the Big Three had been lifted by Percy Jackson all those years ago.

_Hey, so…whose kid are you? _

That question always made me smile, but what made me smile even more was their response when I answered. Their faces would blank in shock, their feet automatically taking them a step backward, and then they would laugh nervously to try and cover up their social blunder. But then they would find an excuse to get away from me…because even though I officially was a part of Camp Half-Blood, in the minds of the campers…I was still sort of…_apart _from the rest of them.

I snorted as I tossed my bag onto the room full of unused bunks, not even bothering to note the changes in interior decoration from last year as I took out my dad's brush and touched the icy silver with irritated fingers, standing before the desk which had a mirror surrounded by obsidian melted into intricate shapes and swirls.

A slender blonde-haired girl stared back at her with eyes that were surprisingly dark and powerful. The intensity seemed to make the air around the mirror shiver slightly, and the fires around the mirror dim to an ominous glow.

_Oh me? Well, I'm the daughter of Hades. You know…the God of the Underworld… _

_

* * *

_Hate it? Love it? Want to read more? PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK, DON'T BE AFRAID TO SAY WHAT YOU THINK!_  
_


	2. Chapter 2

Here's the next one, people! Thank you so much reviewers, you made my day and I love you so much for taking the time to comment!

okay, just a warning, THE P.O.V OF EACH CHAPTER IS DIFFERENT! So this chapter is NOT focused on Layna!

is it too confusing? hope not...

:D

PLEASE REVIEW!

**

* * *

Chapter 2**

I leaned against the wooden support of my bunk, closing my eyes in exasperation as my fellow cabin mates argued over whose turn it was to use the left shower – which had hot water for ten minutes instead of just eight minutes – after dinner. Everything always had to be fair around here…always balanced…

Why couldn't my mother be the goddess of _maturity_, instead of balance and revenge?

I smiled to myself as I watched the sun slowly begin to sink over the horizon. The bell hadn't rung yet for dinner, so we still had about twenty minutes. It was only the first day, so there was no cabin clean up or anything like that. Chiron would probably explain the schedule in his super long speech he always gave before dinner…

"Hey, Cole, can you help us out here?"

My head snapped up in surprise at the sound of my name, and I stared at my half-brothers Tom and Alec, who were glaring at each other angrily. I smiled slightly, and pulled out my screen. It was about six inches long and wide, and as I tapped it a keyboard appeared on the touch-screen. My typing was so fast after nearly seven years of using it that I was able to type as quickly as someone speaking at a normal speed.

I typed my response, and held it out for them to read. Tom glanced at it, and read it out loud.

"_I think that you two should man up and stop being such babies about who gets hot water for two minutes longer than the other_…oh, yeah, that's a big help, Cole!"

I typed once more, and Alec read it with a scowl of irritation. "_It's true…_yeah, very funny wise-guy! Jeez, Tom, you got it last time! It's only fair that I get it this time!"

"So what? I called it first, which has been the rule since forever!"

I rolled my eyes, and lay back on my bed, tuning out the argument with a sigh.

There were only five of us, and the other two – Helios and Clyde – were currently taking showers, claiming that they had first priority, seeing as they traveled the farthest.

It was painful, every time someone forgot about my…problem. It didn't happen as much with my cabin, since they were all used to reading my screen, but everyone else was constantly forgetting. They all thought that I was just mute; they thought that I physically _couldn't_ speak. Even Nemesis, my mother and a goddess, didn't know the sound of my voice. She often tried to make me speak, but the power to speak was beyond me.

Fern, my twin, had been the only one who had heard me speak; she was the only one who understood my problem with speaking. It wasn't that I couldn't speak; it was that I didn't feel that it was necessary, much preferring the calm silence of observing the world around me rather than babbling on aimlessly. She had never forced me to talk, she had just been there, and stood by me when other kids mocked me in the mortal schools for being so shy and quiet. I was comfortable around her, I could smile and talk to her about my day at school as we played outside in the trees behind our dad's house in California.

But on our way to Camp Half-Blood…Fern had been killed. I had been pulled away before I could see her body, but I remember seeing her long dark hair rippling around the corner of the alleyway, beckoning to me as a crying satyr rushed my ten year old self away from the scene.

That day was all a blur to me. The memories are slowly slipping away as I grow older, but the image that never fades is the image of Fern skipping ahead of us in the street, mere seconds before the monster attacked. Her thick dark hair billowed around her shoulders like a cloud as she turned to smile in excitement, her hazel eyes bright and happy as she stood there, her sunlit figure quickly cast into shadow as the monster rose up–

I shifted so I was on my side, staring out the window at the campers coming out of the Demeter cabin, some of them sporting delicate flowers braided into their dark hair and giggling as some of the boys from the Apollo cabin came out, quickening their pace and subtly tossing a few flowers in their direction. I smiled slightly at the pleased nudges the Apollo boys gave each other as they continued on their way, their walk more of a strut now than just a walk. I sighed, remembering Fern's little swagger when she won the spelling bee in their third grade class. How proud she had been, how happy.

It had been seven years since her death.

Now that Fern was gone, there was no one who was able to read his expressions like she did; no one to help people understand what he was trying to say. He was alone in his world of silence, and nothing was going to change.

My eyes flickered towards the door as the loud dinner bell sounded in the distance from the Mess Hall, and the two boys arguing about the showers glowered at each other before moving away from the center of the room as Helios and Clyde rushed out of the bathroom, hurriedly drying off and throwing on some clothes. Clyde tripped over his towel as he hurried to the front of the line, and the other boys laughed while I gave a small smile.

"Oh yeah, you're definitely _graceful and focused_…Chiron sure knows how to call them!" Tom joked, pointedly ignoring Alec's snicker of appreciation as we lined up to exit the cabin. I had been here the longest besides Clyde, so I was second.

Clyde rolled his eyes. "And should I repeat what I heard you and _Evadne_ whispering to each other last summer during Sing-Along?"

Tom's face turned brilliant red as the boys around me cackled and we all punched Tom's arm playfully. I grinned widely as Tom crossed his arms over his chest to cover up his embarrassment.

We all filed out of the cabin, and passed the columns that supported the roof – one of the columns was carved in the shape of a sword, while the other was carved into the shape of a delicate hourglass.

My eyes glanced up to see the glowing letters in Ancient Greek that read: Cabin 16. I had gotten over the difficulty of reading Ancient Greek years ago, and Chiron often assigned me the duty of tutoring some of the new campers. It was a pain, because I had to write down everything I wanted to say, but it made me happy that Chiron didn't just shut me out from activities that usually require vocal communication, like most of the instructors did.

The walk was silent for most of the way, and I saw more campers filing out of the other cabins, and my eyes widened at the number of kids in the Hermes cabin. Most parents took a day or so to officially claim their children – the gods were busy people – so the Hermes cabin was packed for the first few days. Nearly thirty kids were lined up, most of the ones at the back of the line had the excited terror of first-time campers, and I smiled at them as they passed us. One of the girls – she couldn't be more than eleven – blushed, and shyly wiggled her fingers at me, and the boy beside her mimicked her, batting his eyelashes at me, making kissing noises. This caused the girl to blush an even deeper red, and quickly shift so that her hair created a shield between us. Alec, who was behind me, nudged me, and I scowled at him.

"Got an admirer already Cole? I don't get it! You don't even talk, and you get a girl looking at you like that!"

I furiously typed.

_She's_ eleven_, twelve at the oldest …_

"And the problem is…?"

I kicked him angrily and he scampered away, laughing loudly at my expression. I scowled, and turned around as we made our way across the bridge and followed the wide path that would take us to Mess Hall. I heard the murmur of kids around us, and looked over Clyde's head to watch the tree nymphs melt out of the trees as we neared the pavilion. The fires were lit as the sun sunk below the horizon and the sound of the waves against the rocks was soothing as the campers filed into the pavilion.

I sat next to Alec and Clyde at the Nemesis table, and we waited as Chiron and the other adults filed into their seats. Mr. D grumbled as he sat down – he had been off of his confinement to this camp for at least fifty years, and yet for some reason he kept coming back – and the Oracle (everyone just called her Rachel) rolled her eyes at him as she sat down at the head table, her short red bangs pinned back with a single green clip. Middle-aged satyr Grover sat down gingerly in his seat, eyes on his wife Juniper as she appeared from the woods, her cheeks bright and flushed a pale green from the swiftness of her journey. The two rubbed noses affectionately – I looked away awkwardly at the sight– before turning to talk to Rachel.

Chiron stomped his foot on the marble to get everyone's attention, and began with a large smile.

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood! Some of you are here for the first time, and some of you are returning from last year. To those who do not know me, my name is Chiron, although if you have lessons with me you are obligated to address me as Master Chiron. Camp Half-Blood will teach you all the skills needed to survive, and in return we ask that you follow our rules and demonstrate the utmost courtesy with not only your instructors, but your fellow campers. Those of you who have come here not knowing who your immortal father or mother is, do not be concerned. Your parent will claim you within two days at the latest, so be patient and everything will be fine. Mr. D and I have some announcements after dinner, so don't rush off to your Sing-Along right away!"

The campers cheered as the naiads glided out from the outer cooking structure and placed platters of food on the table. Tom whimpered as his stomach grumbled, but he dutifully filled his plate and lined up with everyone else to serve part of their meal to the gods.

There was a boy in front of me that wasn't of my cabin, and I watched as he made his way to the fire. If I had to take a guess, I'd say he was a year younger than me. The boy was dark haired and wiry, and he smiled slightly as he strode up to the flames. His electric-blue eyes stared into the flames as he scraped some of the bread into the fire.

"Zeus." The boy muttered, staring up at the smoke drifting up into the sky before turning and heading back to his table. His bright eyes met mine for a moment, and then he was gone. I walked forward, and tossed a wonderfully ripe and delicious strawberry into the flames. The smell was mouth-watering, as usual, and I closed my eyes as I mouthed the name of my mother.

I quickly moved away, and slowly made my way back to the table. The campers finished offering up portions of their meal, and then everyone sat back down and we continued on with dinner.

I sipped my Coke and listened to my cabin mates chat and laugh while staring out at the array of tables. Nothing had changed much since last year, and that was what I liked most about this place.

* * *

After dinner, Mr. D stood with a pout, his pudgy eyes scanning the tables with annoyance at the abundance of campers.

"I would say hello, but I really don't feel like it, so I won't say anything related to the fact that you're all here. Anyway, Chiron has posted a cabin schedule on each of your cabin boards, so feel free to check that. Also, Capture the Flag will be taking place this Friday, so don't forget."

Mr. D sat down with an exhausted sigh, as if presenting those simple announcements had taken a great amount of effort on his part. Chiron smiled, and stood, his tail swishing around his legs as he went on.

"That will be all for tonight, so follow the Apollo cabin to the amphitheater, where they will lead a Sing-Along. Goodnight, and I will see you all tomorrow at breakfast."

There was a loud scraping as campers stood from their tables, and I followed Alec and Clyde as they moved towards the exit. I felt a brush of cold air against the skin of my arm as someone silently moved past me, and I glanced up to see a girl walking away from me, her pale blonde hair blown back slightly as she disappeared around the corner of the pavilion.

I had seen her around camp before, but had never thought to find out her name. There were some people at camp that you just automatically avoided; there was no real reason for not knowing each other…it was just how things worked. I don't think I even knew what cabin she was in.

But I didn't have time to wonder, because my attention was pulled away from her for a moment, and she seemed to disappear into the shadows out of the corner of my eye. When I looked back, she was gone…like she had never been there at all.

* * *

What do you think? Good? Bad? Eh-ish?

review, please!


	3. Chapter 3

Here it is!

Again please note that when reading this story, ASSUME THAT THE POV CHANGES EVERY CHAPTER! If it doesnt change, I'll be sure to let you know!

Please review! :D

* * *

C**hapter 3**

I drew back my arrow, my tongue sticking out of my mouth slightly as I sighted down the straight shaft of the arrow. I heard Chiron helping a camper to my right, and took a deep breath as I eyed my target. My curly brown hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, but a few stubborn strands hung on either sides of my face, brushing against my cheeks.

It was a big dummy that was stuffed with pillows to resemble a monster, and I am sorry to say that it failed miserably. Its large lips were a delicate shade of red – expensive lipstick, no doubt – and the body was drawn with glittery marker and doused in perfume. Today was the day that the Aphrodite cabin was in charge of providing targets for archery – the Iris and Aphrodite cabins were grouped together in archery class this morning – and it was a complete disaster.

I glanced around at the other fifteen year olds around me, and with a small smile, I closed my eyes and shaped the air around me into an illusion similar to the Mist. It was an art that all Iris kids could perfect once given enough instruction, and it allowed us to create illusions that could fool even demigods. But the size of the thing you're trying to mask affects the length of time the illusion lasts, unlike the real Mist used to shield humans from the world of the gods, so it was a technique that should be used on little things, like masking bed-head or making the enemy see something different while fighting you in order to distract them.

When I opened my eyes, a roaring monster was standing where the dummy had been seconds before, and its beady yellow eyes were locked on me. I pulled my arrow back an inch farther, and let my arrow fly, releasing the breath in a rush as my arrow soared towards the monster.

My arrow hit the monster in the heart, which immediately dispelled the illusion, and I saw that my arrow had punctured a small heart drawn on with pink marker, and it sported a tiny arrow puncturing it. Wow…really?

I laughed as I stared at it, and Chiron butted me with his large horse shoulder and I turned to see him smiling at me.

"I've missed your talent, Amara…I really have."

"Aw, thanks Master Chiron! But I still have a lot of work to do, I mean, I was aiming for the spot an inch away from where I meant to hit, and–"

"Nonsense. You're aim is near perfect! You must have been practicing at home, because camp has only been in session for three days! Anyway, I would be most grateful if you would mind showing around a small group of children, you know, to get them more comfortable. Most of them are still…well, adjusting to the whole situation here, and I might not be the best person to welcome them right now." He gestured to his lower horse body, and I nodded, fighting back a giggle.

"There are five young children who are still unclaimed even after three days. Felix just informed me that they were crying last night because they believed that their parents would never come and claim them."

I bit my lip in sympathy, and Chiron went on. "Felix told me that he'd bring them around in a few minutes or so. Is that alright with you?"

I nodded brightly, saluting with two fingers. "Sure thing, Master Chiron!"

Chiron smiled fondly at me and patted my head with his large hand. "Thank you my dear. Ah, here they are now. You see them, over there?"

"Over by the water barrels?" I saw five small figures standing beside my cabin mate, Felix. His eyes were currently a calm shade of blue, and they flickered towards me as I waved frantically at them. I deposited my bow and quiver into the small container next to the shooting range, and waved to Chiron as I lightly jogged over to the water barrels, a large smile on my face at the sight of five adorable ten year olds. They were all trying to act tough, but I could see that they were all still terrified, and they eyed the archers with wary scowls. Felix smiled at me, and I reached forward to hug him with a smile.

"Hey Amara, thanks for coming."

"It's nothing, Felix. Hey guys!" I turned to the kids, and one of the girls asked boldly.

"Is he your boyfriend or something?"

I laughed, and the kids yelled as they stared into my eyes.

The girl was pale. "Your eyes…they changed color! They were gold before, now they're purple!"

Felix laughed at their fear, and quickly spoke as I composed myself. "Now _this_ is awkward…"

I laughed as he hugged me with one arm. "Yeah, Felix is my half-brother."

The girl sighed in disappointment. "Oh. So you guys can't be together?"

I nodded, smiling at them. "Yup. Okay, before we get into anything else, we need to get to know each other. C'mon, let's sit down."

I saw Felix jog away out of the corner of my eye. I sat down on the thick grass a ways away from the archery field, and gestured for the kids to sit down with me. I assumed that my eyes were my usual happy gold once more – my eye color shifted with my moods, and the darkness and brightness of the color depends on the intensity of those emotions – because the kids didn't start when they looked up to meet my eyes.

"Let's go around in a circle, and say our names, and one thing that we like, and one thing we're scared of. I'll start." I smiled, and the girls – there were three of them –smiled back. The boys remained aloof, however, their arms crossed over their thin chests. "I'm Amara, Daughter of Iris and I love archery. The thing I'm most afraid of is the dark."

"You're afraid of the _dark_?" A boy was shocked into blurting, and I shrugged as the others snickered.

"Yep. Who's next?"

The girl to my right piped up, her rich brown eyes bright as she spoke.

"My name's Kaia and I love gardens. I hate fire…it scares me…"

I looked the girl up and down, and flicked my eyes upward to the heavens. Uh, really? Was this some kind of challenge, to attempt a guess at which cabin this girl was made for? Like…did the gods think we were stupid or something? It's painfully obvious…

But I knew that if I told this girl of who her mom probably was, then the other kids would be jealous because Kaia knew who her immortal parent was, and they still didn't.

And so just smiled and nodded, and the boy beside her glanced up with vivid green eyes. His hair was in disarray, and it was as black and unpredictable as the raging sea in winter.

"I'm Philip, and I like Skittles. I hate chocolate."

I nodded, once more looking up at the sky. It really only took one look at some of these children and you could tell who their parents were. What was taking them so long?

The other introductions were similar, and by the end of the circle I knew that two of the kids, a boy and girl, were children of Poseidon. One girl was a child of Demeter, and the last girl was of Janus. The last boy was of Hermes, I could tell from the first time I saw him. Only one god had that mischievous of a smile, only one god had that seemingly casual stance to their shoulders.

I sighed, and cupped my hands and called up to the heavens. "Um, sorry to bother you all, but do you think that you can hurry it up down here? I can tell whose kids these are, but it'd be nice for them if you could make it official!"

There was a rumble in the distance, and I could've sworn I heard a chuckle somewhere in those white clouds that floated above us.

Over Philip and a serious girl named Pelagia's heads glimmered a bright green trident, and their small faces lit up with astonishment as they stared up at their father's sign. Over Kaia's head was a single glowing strand of wheat and over the darker girl named Eden was a glowing gray arch. Over the head of the last boy had a caduceus with two slender snakes wrapping around the lower half of the staff, and his eyes were bright as polished gold as he stared open-mouthed at his father's sign. I grinned at them as the symbols slowly disappeared, and got to her feet.

"Alright, now that that's over with, let's get on with the tour. There's a lot to show you guys!"

This time, all five kids jumped to their feet, and instead of somber stares each child had beaming grins on their faces. I remember the feeling I had when I saw the shining rainbow over my head back when I was ten myself…it was a wonderful lightness in your chest, like you could start flying if you let yourself try. Like you finally were complete, because you knew who your other parent was…and you knew that they completed you, they are what made you special.

It was the best feeling in the world, and I couldn't imagine a time or place where children of the gods weren't privileged to feel that way about their immortal parent. It made me wish that Percy Jackson was still alive, so I could tell him how happy he made so many half-bloods…half-bloods that were being accepted and trained.

But when I mentioned this to Rachel, she laughed, a little sad when talking about her deceased friends, but still cheerful.

"Nah, that'd just blow up his ego! And if a pretty girl like you came within a foot of Percy, Annabeth would have your head!"

* * *

I watched as the kids hefted their bags onto their shoulders as they strode towards their new cabins, and I waved to them as they smiled back at me. They were soon gone, and I turned on my heel to head towards the Mess Hall for a quick lunch – since I wasn't doing a regular activity, at which lunch was normally served.

The grass was warm under my sandaled feet, and I breathed deeply as I stared up at the sky. I hoped that my mother would be feeling up to painting a rainbow soon, the sky looked so bland without it.

I smiled, and made a little rainbow within my cupped hands, watching it glitter and sparkle. I was so absorbed that I didn't see the boy sneaking up behind me. I screamed when I felt his hands cover my eyes, and whipped around to see a pair of cheerful blue eyes, sparkling in amusement as I blushed at how close he was, looking down and straightening my shirt.

It's embarrassing how flustered I get around boys…they're just so…_sudden_ sometimes.

"Hey Jake, what's up?" I said, smiling up at the eighteen year old boy, seeing the winged shoes he carried in his hands as he slowed himself to match my stride. _He really is cute_; I couldn't help but note as we walked. Tall, athletic, handsome…the typical appearance of a child of Hermes.

"Oh, nothing much, just helping some of the younger Hermes kids get the hang of these winged sandals. It's really easy, if–"

I laughed. "You have incredible balance, speed, and are a child of Hermes. If you have those three qualities, you're super!"

Jake laughed, bumping me with his shoulder. I liked the warm weight of him; it was soothing in a way. But he obviously could never see me in that kind of light…and it was sad, but I valued his friendship too much to try and go that extra step. I had never actually gone out with a guy before, I all I had to go on was some sappy chick-flicks and the advice of the other girls in my cabin. The other girls in my cabin…well, they weren't much help, and those movies? Gods, they were just plain embarrassing!

We passed a few campers on our way to the pavilion, and I saw a boy my age holding his sword by his side, his honey-blonde hair wavy and his piercing gray eyes smiling as he joked with his friends. As we passed, our eyes met for an instant, and then we were past each other. I smiled at Jake he leaned in closer to me so that we could both squeeze in between the wooden confinements of the bridge.

Jake suddenly leaned in to smell my hair, and I blushed bright crimson as I felt the heat of his chest against my shoulder. A smug smile crossed his lips as he twirled a loose curl that had fallen loose of my ponytail around his finger. "Let me guess…you were creating rainbows just a second ago."

I bit my lip, and my gaze dropped to my feet. "Uh, how did you know?"

"Your hair usually smells like that vanilla shampoo you use…but whenever you create rainbows, it smells like roses. Weird, huh?"

I tried to make light of the situation, despite the fact that I was blushing in secret pleasure that Jake actually took note of what I smelled like. Could this be a sign?

I smiled up at him in glee, and a breath escaped him as he stared up at the sky.

"How can you always be so…happy?"

"Huh?"

"Like, no matter how angry people are, no matter how annoying things are sometimes…whenever I look at you, you're always smiling, always happy. It's kind of cool, actually."

I smiled slowly, twirling a curl of hair around my finger as I bit my lip. He actually looked at me sometimes, like, when I wasn't looking! Score!

"I don't know, I just think about the fact that my mother is the goddess of rainbows, and rainbows always make other people happy. Since I'm her daughter, it's my job to make sure that other people are happy too."

Jake seemed embarrassed as he looked into my eyes, and he quickly glanced away again. I was at the Mess Hall steps, and he hesitated as he fiddled with his belt. An awkward silence filled the air as we both looked at each other.

"I've got to go back to teaching those kids…"

"Yeah, definitely. I've got to eat and then help my cabin get ready for Capture the Flag tomorrow…"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that…" Jake frowned, and his blue eyes flickered up to meet mine for an instant. "I hope we aren't against each other…that would suck…"

I smiled, and poked him playfully in the stomach. "Yeah right. You'd enjoy pummeling my team into a pulp, and don't try to deny it because I know you a bit better than that."

"Darn, you got me." Jake smiled, and I hugged him goodbye.

"See you around, Jake." I whispered, feeling so coddled when his long arms came around to hug me tightly. I let myself remain in that position for a while longer, and then we both gently pulled away.

I was about to turn, but Jake lightly touched my arm, making me stop. His lips lightly pressed against my cheek, and I felt my heart thrumming like a humming bird in my chest as he quickly pulled away, his eyes on the ground and his face burning.

"Uh, I…I…didn't…"

And without another word, Jake turned on his heel and ran back to his cabin, running a hand through his hair as he opened the door and dashed inside.

I was having an out-of-body experience right now…there was no way, _no way_…that Jake had just kissed me on the cheek. Sure it wasn't on the lips, but it was still more than a friendly hug! He had _kissed_ me!

I giggled to myself as I danced around in a circle, and I kicked the air in front of me with excitement as I chanted to myself.

"Jake kissed me, Jake kissed me, Jake ki–"

"Oh for crying out loud, girl, get over it already!" I turned to see Mr. D standing there, and I slapped my hands over my mouth in mortification, feeling my face burn and I was sure that my eyes were dark, dark purple.

Mr. D seemed pleased at my embarrassment, and waddled past me, sniffing in amusement.

"Jeez, just a kiss on the bloody cheek and girls get like this? Back in my day…"

But I was already inside the pavilion, running towards the kitchen and praying to every god in existence that Mr. D didn't do what he usually did when coming upon something secret. If I wasn't careful, the fact that Jake had kissed me would be known by every camper, nymph, and naiad within an hour.

Oh dear.

But I remembered the warmth of his face close to mine, and couldn't help but smile.

* * *

Cute ending, no? I tried to make it as realistic as possible (not all guys are charming and calm around girls, especially girls they like...)

PLEASE REVIEW!


	4. Chapter 4

So many quick updates, this story is GREAT!

Different POV, just assume that every new chapter

PLEASE REVIEW!

**

* * *

Chapter 4**

I let out a deep breath as I strapped on my battle armor, slipping on the heavy metal helmet with a blue plume attached to the top. Some younger kids rushed past, their faces bright with nervous anxiety. I smirked. I was seventeen, and having been at camp for six years now, I knew that Capture the Flag wasn't a game for scared little newbies. It was a brutal battle against enemies that always involved maiming despite Chiron's warnings. There was always someone knocked out, always someone with broken bones. Seeing as there weren't any quests – there hadn't been any for at least thirty years – the campers needed somewhere to truly test their skills, and this battle was their opportunity to do just that. No one was ever killed – healers were right there if someone was seriously injured – but it wasn't just a game anymore. Chiron was even talking about taking out the younger kids from Capture the Flag, seeing how violent it got.

The Athena cabin was on the blue team along with the cabins of Zeus, Poseidon, Aeolus, Iris, Hermes and Dionysus. The red team consisted of the cabins of Ares, Apollo, Demeter, Hephaestus, Janus, Aphrodite, Hades, Nemesis and Phobos. All of these were alliances, including the usual bribes – mainly who would do which chores and such – and secret meetings held to create a stable battle plan. It was basically the more virtuous gods against the less virtuous ones, and I felt slightly nervous seeing as the other team had both Phobos's kids and Hades's girl on their side, and both of them were offense. But we also had both Zeus _and _Poseidon's kids, and with my cabins brilliant strategy, the other team didn't stand a chance.

My other cabin mates were talking amongst themselves and comparing maps that illustrated the best way to attack the red team, while I sat off to the side, staring at the small owl etched onto the pommel of my sword. Its wings were slightly un-tucked, as if taking off for flight.

The camp was hastily put together, but cabins had set up separate tents for their groups and were jogging around creating traps and yelling to each other across the camp. A slender and lanky Aeolus boy rushed past, his silvery hair all spiky and wind swept, his pale gray eyes – they were so pale that it was almost unsettling – glancing at him as he ran by, the pile of weapons in his hands clanking and creaking unsteadily as he bounced around the corner of the nearest tent.

"Are you ready, Tracey?"

I looked to see my cabin mate Lizzy smiling smugly at me, and I rolled my eyes as I stood.

"Of course. When are we heading out?"

"Well, Chiron said that the game would start when the bell rang, so I'd say in a few minutes or so. You're with me, Jessie of the Poseidon cabin and Damien of the Zeus cabin. We're situated in middle field, trying to stop and detain any offensive lines that they might send. If they do get past us, we have traps set by the defensive group, so we'll be okay."

I nodded, just as the large gong sounded in the distance. I hefted my lightweight shield and sword, and Lizzy grinned impishly as she put on her silver helmet over her head, hefting her sword in her hands.

"Let's head out."

We were met by a green eyed girl with long black hair and a muscular boy whose eyes were sparking as he swung around his sword which was crackling with electricity.

We all ran to the center of our territory, between the line dividing each team and our flag. The Iris kids were guarding the flag, and were putting up an illusion that made the red offense think that the flag was by the river, when it really was in front of a large oak south of that river. I took the far left section of the center, which branched out to the boundaries, and I saw Jessie standing a few hundred feet to my right, her green eyes flickering towards the small river streaming just behind us.

Damien was grinning as he stood straight with his sword beside him, and I saw Lizzy shoot him an irritated look as he kept swinging that sword around like a fool.

Zeus kids…always so cocky.

I easily warded off some smaller Ares kids, their wild blows easily avoided and I disarmed them with a simple rap to the wrist, and kicked their swords away as they all scampered away back to their base, and Jessie smirked at me.

"Nice, Tracey. But heads up, we've got some more on their way…either older Ares kids or Phobos. Remember, don't look into the Phobos kids' eyes, and they wont be able to do anything to you."

I nodded sharply, remembering the painful images produced by looking into the eyes of Phobos kids when they activated that ability of theirs. It was similar to Medusa in the sense that eye contact was necessary, and it made it harder to fight them when only looking at their feet and where their arms swung.

Looking into the eyes made the victim see the most terrifying, most gruesome, torturous images possible, and often immobilized them in fear. It wasn't an experience that I would wish on anyone, even people I hated.

I scanned the trees around me warily, shifting so my sword was held in my right hand and my shield lifted in the other. Jessie braced herself, and I saw the river behind her roiling up and churning in preparation to soar out of the river and block incoming enemies.

The air was suddenly cold, and I looked to Jessie with confused eyes. Shadows were stretched from the trees, and the grass was slowly dying under my feet. I hissed, and yelled out.

"Prepare yourself! She's here!"

The girl from Hades, the girl who no one really knew, but all feared on the field of battle. She was, like her farther, merciless and powerful, and she held no ties to anyone in camp, so she wasn't afraid to teach you a lesson if you underestimated her.

I hadn't really ever gotten a good look at her, because she was already hiding in the shadows and commanding her skeleton soldiers from there. Outside of Capture the Flag, she didn't associate herself much with the others, and I had only seen flashes of her blonde hair as she sparred with anyone who dared – mostly stupid Ares kids.

There was a roar in the air as ten skeleton soldiers suddenly ripped themselves from the ground, swords in their hands and fires glowing within their empty eye sockets. Behind them was a group of Ares and Phobos kids, and their eyes were smug as they took in just us four.

The skeleton's jaws opened in an unearthly shriek, and they split themselves up. Three rushed at me – I was closest – and the others rushed at everyone else. I cursed as I swung my sword at the closest one, chopping off its sword arm and slamming my shield into its head, shattering it. The others were slashing at me, and I hissed as one of the swords sliced into my arm. I slashed furiously, glancing for a split second to see that Jessie had already obliterated her skeletons and was battling off three Ares kids, using the water and her sword to force them back.

I finished off the rest of the skeletons, and smiled in triumph as the bones sunk back down into the earth.

"That's all you have" I muttered, glancing around. The girl wasn't in sight, but before I had time to turn and help Jessie a sword cut me off. I was face to face with the only child of Hades, staring her full in the face for the first time.

Her pale blonde hair was perfectly straight and was currently tied back in a long ponytail that hung down her back. Her skin was deathly pale, almost translucent in a way, but the most shocking part of her was her eyes. They were black, dark as night and just as unforgiving. I could feel the death radiating from her, the sadness and the loneliness of the Underworld. But I couldn't even feel sympathy for her…I was hardwired to fight her; I was hardwired to resent her.

Her voice was low, and it sent chills down my spine. "Unfortunately for you, Son of Athena, that's _not_ all I have."

And in a whirl her Stygian iron sword was whooshing towards my shoulder, and I barely had time to dodge before she was after me again, her eyes burning into mine as she bent backwards effortlessly to dodge my shield. Her sword cut into my chest plate, mere centimeters from slicing my chest.

"You're too slow, little boy…"

The nerve of her! I was much taller than her, and I was older than her too! I couldn't lose to her, I had to make her eat those words.

But my anger made me stupid, it made me forget my training as a strategist and reduced me to a mere teen upped up on adrenaline and anger.

I growled angrily, and swept my foot under her feet to trip her. It was a stupid move, I realized a second later, because it left my entire upper body open for attack. I was too angry to care, and that was my mistake. But instead of striking me down, she just flipped gracefully over my head, her lithe body twisting extraordinarily as she landed just behind me, sending her shield slamming into my back.

"I'll say it again, little boy. Much. Too. Slow. That's what little boys are…slow, weak, and easily angered. I am the daughter of Hades, not of Aphrodite. If you want to compete with me, you'll have to toughen your skin, and be prepared to fight someone who could kill you, not someone who will go easy on you."

I rolled up and dove at her again, but this time she slammed her elbow into my nose, and blood spurted out to drip down my face.

"Tracey!" Jessie yelled to my left, and tried to rush to my aid, but with a flick of her eyes the Hades girl created a stone barrier between us, and I groaned as my nose throbbed.

"You've wanted to fight me for a while …I've seen it. Everyone in this camp wants to see me suffer for all the humiliation I've caused, and I welcome that challenge with open arms. You want a fight…so come at me, Son of Athena"

I held my hand to my face to try and stop the bleeding, and glared down at her. "Stop calling me that. I have a name, you know."

"I have a name as well, little boy. Have _you _bothered to find it out?" I didn't answer, and she smiled, a cool and smug smile that made me cold inside. "I thought so. I can see what my father hates about your parents…they take, take, take…but they give so very little in return. A cabin in Camp Half-Blood…that's all they gave my father, and a few pats on the back. Every kid in this camp ignores me and hates me openly and with no attempt at discretion, but when it comes to a fight, they all come scrambling to my door and plead with me to help them. Why do I do it, Son of Athena? Can you even begin to wonder _why _I help them?"

I didn't answer again, glaring at her while trying to stop the blood from dripping down my tunic. This was the most I had ever heard her say, and I was embarrassed to say that I was…fascinated in a way. She was like a wounded animal, prowling around in its cage with black eyes burning into its captor.

"I help them because I know that it's the right thing to do. It doesn't lessen my hatred of their using me; it doesn't make me all warm and fuzzy inside. I do it because I know that I'm better than their parents. Most of the so-called perfect gods up there wouldn't blink an eye if I died, because of my father. But if I was faced with saving myself and a…let's a son of Zeus, do you know what I would do?"

I spat the blood that was pooling in my mouth out onto the ground, and smirked. "You'd leave him to die…maybe even help him along the way to death."

"Ah. You see, that is the difference between us, little boy. I know that I would do what is right. I would help that boy, because it isn't my choice whether he lives or dies. I do not have that right; I do not have that power within myself to watch someone die before my eyes. My father may be the god of the Underworld, Son of Athena, but that doesn't mean that he necessarily _likes_ death. Have any of you ever thought about that?

I frowned, and she smiled, her smile so sad that it sent a pang of guilt into my chest.

"Why am I not surprised?"

And with that she pointed at me with a smile, and the world swirled unsteadily as my already tired body sunk gratefully into her spell.

My knees hit the ground, and I stared up into her eyes, unable to look away. She was silent, those eyes blending into nothing as I fell forward.

I felt my upper body sway before hitting the ground with an echoing thud. The last thing I saw was her turning to melt into the shadows…her pale blonde hair so bright against the darkness…before it was all swallowed up into darkness.

* * *

I laughed as my cabin mates showed me the red flag, and the entire blue team was celebrating around the campfire, and I was seated in between Lizzy and another Athena boy named Tammy. They were hooting along with the rest of them, but I couldn't find it in me to join them.

I remember the child of Hades smirking at me, her black eyes cold as she called me little boy, as she angrily paced in front of me, her pale hair whirling around her.

_Everyone in this camp wants to see me suffer for all the humiliation I've caused, and I welcome that challenge with open arms._

It was true…no one liked that girl. She radiated death and suffering, and more than that…everyone was afraid of her. The aura of loneliness was so strong that it automatically made people avoid her.

_I have a name as well, little boy. Have you bothered to find it out?_

But I forced her from my mind as a pretty Iris girl passed in front of me, and I was about to ask her what her name was when a tall boy from Hermes came up behind her and kissed her sweetly as she laughed. Well damn…

I had no luck with girls. A well known fact, but such a depressing one at the same time.

I saw a loud obnoxious boy from Zeus chatting with some pretty Aphrodite girls, his smile slow and confident as he leaned in to whisper into one of their ears. They blushed and giggled girlishly as they swatted his arm in mock-scolding. I didn't know the kid very well, but it was well known for his rather…_playful _nature. Like father like son, I suppose…

I sighed, and leaned my head back against a rock surrounding the campfire, and Lizzy patted my leg before standing up to go and greet her friends who had just arrived at the site. I sat there alone, and stared into the flickering flames.

* * *

Oooooh he got SERVED! was it good? bad?

PLEASE REVIEW!


	5. Chapter 5

Hey y'all!

sorry for the super duper long update, i've had a lot of stuff going on!

hope this chapter makes up for it!

**_PLEASE REVIEW!_**

:P

**

* * *

Chapter 5**

I lay beside the lake in the early morning sun, before breakfast, watching Poseidon kids play in the water as me and my best friend Katie relaxed in the warm summer grass. Katie was reading, and I was contentedly using my powers given to me by my mother to grow a pretty flower, willing its slender stem to wrap around my finger and sprout beautiful rose-pink petals. I smiled, smelling the delicate aroma before releasing the plant and letting it shift back its natural state. My black hair was cut short for the summer, choppy layers going to the nape of my neck. Like most of the girls in my cabin, I had pale yellow grass braided into my hair – not very long of a braid, in my case – while the boys wore bracelets made of the same pale yellow straw.

"Hey, Chloe?"

I turned to Katie, rolling onto my stomach. Katie was of the Apollo cabin, and her caramel colored hair went to her shoulders in waves, and her bright eyes were sunny and happy as she smiled at the flower I had created.

"What do you think of Cole, from the Nemesis cabin?"

"Cole? Who's that?"

Katie sighed in exasperation, and rolled so we were facing each other. "How can you _not_ notice him?"

I shrugged, patting the grass by my elbow, watching it become charged with energy and begin to grow around my hand. "I guess I don't really pay attention to guys…"

"Ugh! Get your mind out of the flowers and into the real world! Ever since camp started a few weeks ago, I've been noticing…all of the guys our age are becoming super hot! Seventeen must be the wonder age or something…"

"I think that you're just insane…they're all so environmentally insensitive…" I grumbled, remembering the burnt trees that had resulted from a playful spar in the forest just yesterday between two boys from Zeus. Katie rolled her eyes, and stared out at the water, a small smile on her face.

"Cole has short, dark brown hair, and he's pretty tall. But he's not tall in the sense that he has no muscles, he's quite…_gifted_ in that area…heh heh heh…"

"Oh jeez…"

"Sorry, got a little side-tracked there. Anyway, he doesn't talk much…in fact; I don't think he can talk at all. I've heard people say that he's mute."

That caught my attention, and I raised an eyebrow. "Really? How does he communicate then?"

"He uses this screen that he can type on."

"Hm…" I closed my eyes, and leaned my chin on my folded hands. Cole, huh? I had never really heard of him…there were so many kids at camp these days that I only befriended about a quarter of them.

Katie went on, gushing about how mysterious and handsome Cole was, and I automatically tuned her out as I dozed off. The warmth of the grass soothed me, and I let my mind drift into pleasant dreams of flowers and tomato plants…shining in the sun…

* * *

I stood beside my pegasus, patting its smooth neck as it nuzzled at my hand for sugar cubes. It was a beautiful creature, with shining silvery fur and silky wings that were loosely folded against its back. It was my regular steed for pegasi lessons, and it was a female – I had asked a Poseidon kid to ask the pegasus, and had been pleased to find that she liked me as much as I liked her.

"Sorry, Bella. I don't have any sweets today. I'll make it up to you, I promise." I murmured, stroking Bella's soft nose as I watched the other kids – we were practicing with the Aeolus kids today – select their pegasi and bridle them. Bella snorted, gently butting against my shoulder. I smiled, mounting easily when our instructor yelled the order a moment later. I settled myself down on Bella's broad back, and held the reins loosely in my hands as our instructor called out.

"Today we'll be focusing on mid-air combat, so get ready to take to the air like we practiced a few days ago. Get going at a brisk run, and then tap your mount between the wings to get them to fly upward."

We all nodded, making our way out of the large barn and into the huge field that served as a runway. I glanced down at the earth longingly, watching the breeze gently whisper between the warm strands of vivid green.

I urged Bella into a gallop, and savored the feeling of the wind blowing against my skin before I gently tapped the spot between Bella's shoulder blades, feeling the pegasus immediately respond by snapping open her glorious wings and letting the air lift under them, raising us into the air. I clutched the lower base of her mane tightly – it was traditional to ride the pegasi without saddles, seeing as they only weighed the creature down.

I gently leaned so the reins pressed against the side of her broad neck, and we banked gently to the left. I almost got knocked off as an Aeolus kid suddenly flew straight up in front of me, cutting me off and making Bella jolt in startled fright.

"Hey!" I yelled out, but the boy didn't hear me, his lanky figure leaning over the pegasi and his spiky silver hair blowing wildly in the wind. I sighed, and Bella snorted indignantly before angling so she was parallel to the ground.

I patted her neck musingly, still staring at the boy who was flying in large sweeping circles with the boys, while the girls flew patiently and gently below them. The boys' laughing and goofing off led to our instructor growling under her breath, and flying up to scold all of them.

Bella snorted again, and I smirked.

"I know, they're impossible. But…boys will be boys, I guess."

And with one final look at that Aeolus kid who had run into me, I flew over to join my cabin mates Jenna and Lorena, who were just managing to get into the air.

* * *

Later that day, during Free Time, I was urging the honeysuckle to grow around the door to our cabin when I heard the sound of someone crying. I was the only person in my cabin left – most of them had opted to go to the strawberry fields to relax – and so I silently made my way down the steps to listen more carefully. The wind was blowing gently around me, pushing my hair back from my face and tickling the base of my neck.

The crying was coming from the small thicket of trees behind the cabins, and I sighed as I tucked my hair behind my ears, glancing back sadly at my abandoned honey suckle plants before making my way into the forest. The nymphs were there, of course, and I wasn't surprised that they were ignoring the sounds of crying. They were trees, and although they took human shape and contained human emotions, nature was their core. Unless it affected them directly, they weren't likely to step in.

I heard other voices now, nastily laughing and cackling to each other as feet shuffled through the grass unsteadily.

"Come and get them, you big baby!"

Another voice, one strained and choked with tears. "Give them back!"

I came onto the scene, quiet enough so that they didn't notice me. I leaned against a tree trunk, watching three Phobos kids – they couldn't be more than twelve – tease a very young girl from the Iris cabin, dangling her glasses above her as she squinted and struggled to get them back. Her blonde curls were covered in dirt, her knees were grass stained from falling, and her large eyes were a dark and miserable shade of blue.

I cleared my throat, and all four of the kids whipped around to see me, the bullies gasping as they saw me and the girl letting out a sob. I kept my eyes on the kids' waists, not even taking into question whether they were using their ability or not. With the Phobos kids, you always had to be wary, even if you were friends with them.

One of the Phobos kids – a thin, sharp looking boy who was wearing plain blue jeans and black sneakers – stammered. "Hey, you shouldn't sneak up on us like that…I'll tell Chiron on you!"

I smirked. "Go right ahead, little man. You tell him how my sneaking up on you is somehow against the rules, and I'll tell him how you were ruthlessly bullying an innocent little girl for no apparent reason. Let's see who he sides with."

The kids were shifting nervously, and one of them – a girl with green shorts and long pale legs – growled. "It's just a Demeter girl, guys. They can't do anything…"

The last boy – he wore brown corduroy pants and tan sandals – put his hands on his hips angrily. "Just get out of here! She had it coming to her, anyway."

I frowned, not liking the nasty way his voice curled upwards as if taunting me. With a flick of my hands, thick vines grew upwards from the ground and snaked up their bodies, pinning their arms to their sides and pulling them backwards so they lay flat on their backs, staring up at the leafy branches of the thicket. The boy who was holding the girl's glasses dropped them as the vines encircled him, and they landed harmlessly on the soft grass. I smirked at the sight before me, and walked over to pick the glasses up.

"I don't know what you three have heard about my cabin, but rest assured that we _can _do things, and that we – me in particular – don't take nicely to threats from people half our size. Do we understand each other?" They nodded shakily, not able to meet my eye because my vines prevented any movement. I smirked, and glanced around. "I'm sure someone will come looking for you…we're not _that _far from the cabins. Only about a ten minute walk or so. I'd say it's a 40% chance, maybe less. Well, see you all later!"

The Phobos girl was crying. "You can't just _leave _us here! What if no one comes to get us?"

I turned to face her. "You should have thought of that before bullying this girl."

And with that, I grabbed the glasses off the grass, handed them to the girl, and scooped her up in my arms. She was only sniffling now, and I hugged her close as I walked out of the thicket.

When we reached the main circle of cabins, I saw that the Phobos cabin leader, Isaac, was looking around worriedly. I smiled, and waved him over. The girl in my arms laid her head on my shoulder as Isaac reached me.

"Your kids are in the thicket, straight ahead for about two minutes. They were bullying this girl here, and so I dealt with them."

Isaac frowned disapprovingly, but let it go with a sigh, and made his way into the woods, muttering irritably to himself. I smirked, and moved so I was sitting on the steps leading up to my cabin, and set the girl down, sitting on the steps.

She couldn't be more than eight or nine, her eyes now a warm and shining gold as she smiled at me. I smiled, and patted the step next to me, watching as she plopped herself beside me.

"Thanks for helping me…"

"It was nothing; those kids were up to no good. What's your name, sweetie?"

"Aurora." The girl said shyly, rubbing her toes on the stone steps. I laughed, and patted her head.

"That's a beautiful name...now why would those boys pick on a sweet girl like you?"

Aurora bit her lip, and put her hands together. "Because I was making rainbows, and they got really mad when people told me how pretty it was. Then they took my glasses…and…" Tears started welling up in her eyes once more, the gold shifting back to blue. But I put my arm around her, and whispered.

"Can you show me?"

Aurora wiped her tears away, and nodded. Her hands shimmered slightly, and then when she drew them apart a glittering rainbow stretched out across her palms, lighting up her face and making her skin glow. I watched the colors meld together, and then the girl ended the spell, glancing up at me hesitantly.

"Was it okay?"

I laughed before hugging her. "Aurora, you should never be ashamed of your gift. It's beautiful, and I bet that every time you make a rainbow, your mother feels it and knows what a wonderful daughter you are."

Aurora's eyes grew wide with awe. "You really think so?"

I smiled widely. "Better yet, I _know _so."

Aurora giggled, and I stood up briefly, moving to the honeysuckle plant and gently picking off a single flower, attached to an inch long stem. I took a deep breath, and blew gently on the flower. I infused energy into my breath as it suffused the plants, and when it faded, the plants had a slight glow to them. I gently placed the flower in Aurora's hair, pinning it there with a gold clip I had in my pocket. The fragrance of the flower was gentle and sweet, and the girl breathed it in deeply as I stepped away.

"This flower won't die, wither or lose its scent, Aurora, as long as you keep it close to you. Plants are like people in that sense, they want to be loved and cared for. Can you do that for me?"

Aurora nodded seriously, and I smiled as I kissed her forehead. "Alright then. You should go find your friends, I'm sure they're all looking for you."

The girl nodded, her eyes shining and golden as she turned to run towards the fields, her golden curls bouncing adorably on her head as she disappeared from sight. I sighed as I leaned against the large tree trunk that served as one of the pillars supporting my cabin, and traced my fingers over the rough bark, feeling every line and nurtured edge.

Being human was so hard. As well as taking claim for so many good things in this world, we also had to claim the bad ones. Love, hope, laughter, happiness…they were all such good things, such beautiful things. Why couldn't life just be compiled of those things? Why did there have to be hatred and cruelty?

Because we are human, and human beings aren't perfect.

Ugh.

Sometimes I wish that everyone would just become trees and flowers. Life would be so much simpler that way.


	6. Chapter 6

I'm sorry for the long update! If you want faster updates, **_PLEASE REVIEW_**!

ENJOY!

* * *

**Chapter 6**

I honestly didn't know why all the guys made such a fuss about girls. Every day it was the same: _She looked at me weird, she must hate me_, or _She's so hot, but I'm sure she doesn't know I exist_.

I had none of those doubts. Girls really were simple if you just had some confidence. Smile a lot, make them feel cared for, and compliment them on their appearance, and its all in the bag. I personally loved playing the flirting game. Girls were so soft and sexy (Daughters of Athena in the heat of battle? _Damn_; that's all I gotta say…) once you got them in the mood.

I was distracted from polishing my sword at the familiar sounds of girls giggling to themselves. I ran a hand through my short hair, smiling automatically as a gaggle of Aphrodite cabin-mates walked by. Their leader, Journey – the tallest one in the group, with the body of a model and silvery-blue eyes – trailed her fingers across my shoulders as she passed, leaning down so that her breasts brushed the back of my neck. I smiled lazily at the sensation, and winked at her as she sauntered away. My gaze was drawn to Journey's glossy brown waves, which were perfectly styled, as usual. The spicy scent of her perfume wafted in my direction.

She really was pretty, I mused. We had made out a few times last summer, and I was surprised to find that she was still into me. Girls like her weren't satisfied with just one partner – I wasn't offended by this, seeing as I was similar in that respect. To know that she was still willing was heartening, but not especially satisfying.

Journey was the camp go-to. I can't begin to count how many guys she's dated, much less how many guys she's kissed. Aphrodite girls were gorgeous, but after ten years of being captivated by them…I was sort of bored. They were all sexy as all get-out, but there just wasn't that _spark_ that I wanted. The special little jolt that made me smile no matter what mood I was in.

Gah. Imagine, a seventeen-year-old looking for a spark. Gods, I sound like an old guy reminiscing about finding his wife!

I shook my head in exasperation, and got to my feet, straightening my armor and beginning my warm-up routine. The Zeus, Athena, and Hades cabins were taking sparring classes with a special guest teacher today. Chiron was as mysterious as always, but unlike the naive first years…I knew better than to pester.

My sword whistled through the air as I jabbed at an imaginary enemy, and the sound of bickering reached my ears. I rolled my eyes, and tried to tune it out. I was so focused that the sudden silence escaped my notice. I twirled around, imagining that someone was behind me.

"Miles, no—"

The warning was given too late, but I appreciated the effort.

My sword was suddenly clashing with a glowing silver one, and the strength behind the weapon was so stifling that my arms were forced to drop an inch or so. I was staring at the eternally youthful face of Thalia, the Goddess Artemis's lieutenant. Like the rest of the Hunters, she wore a silver jacket and dark jeans. Her hair was short and punk-style, with silver ribbon braided into a few stray braids. Her electric blue eyes – she was a child of Zeus, just like me – smiled impishly, and I resisted the urge to cringe in shame.

"If you wanted me to kick your butt, Miles, you only had to ask…" Thalia chided in mock anger, and I flushed, stepping back and giving her a shallow bow of respect. I held the Hunter in the highest regard, higher than anyone else at camp, but I made sure not to show it too much.

I took the moment in which Thalia addressed her Hunters to look around at the other campers. The Athena and Zeus cabins were mixed evenly together, and of course the Hades girl was standing off to the side. I was so used to seeing the Hades girl alone that my eyes glazed over her automatically. I had never looked at her for more than a few seconds, and didn't care to. She was death, clear as that. I didn't want to think of her more than I had to.

The Hunters had added to their ranks in the three years since they had last visited Camp Half-Blood. There were at least ten new faces, which put the Hunters' numbers at about forty maidens. All of them (save Thalia and the few that had become comfortable in the presence of demigods) had hostile snarls hidden just beneath their cool expressions of tranquility, and I knew better than to stir the pot by smiling at any of them. It would only encourage their distrust.

I sheathed my weapon, turning to face the Hunters once more. Thalia smiled a small, smug smile before raising her voice to speak to the entire group.

"Hello campers! The Hunters of Lady Artemis will be your teachers today. We will pair you off into sparring partners, so prepare yourself in whatever way you feel comfortable."

And with that, the Hunters dispersed themselves among the group, and began yanking campers together randomly. I guess that Thalia hadn't changed a bit; she's always been blunt in these sorts of situations. My eyes were drawn to the squeak of an Athena girl as she was pulled unceremoniously to my side. Her shoulder bumped into mine, and I breathed in the clean scent of her shampoo.

My disquiet was swept away as I smiled widely at the girl, the grin growing when she sent me a stern scowl in return.

I always liked 'em feisty.

* * *

That night, after dinner, I snuck away from the Sing-Along, for some reason not feeling up to singing and flirting as usual. The light of the fire faded away rapidly as I trudged along the worn stone path that led away from the pavilion, and I relished the rare opportunity of solitude in this usually crowded environment.

Bright lights of fireflies and magic lanterns illuminated the path as I went, and I shoved my hands in my pockets as I watched forest nymphs giggle and dance from tree to tree. Their voices reminded me of days spent back home with my mother…of lost memories that continued to haunt even after so many years passing me by. It had been six long years since she had died of breast cancer. She hadn't been much of a mother – the cancer kept her in the hospital most of the time, and her mind had been muddled by the painkillers – but that didn't make her absence any less painful. On her coherent days, she had always stroked my hair and made me smile with her awed stories of my father and how they had met.

I missed her. Dad had showed up for her funeral, and although he hadn't spoken to me…he only had to look at me, and I could see how sorry he was. I didn't expect tears from the god, and instead I saw a deep and ancient pain behind those bright eyes. I didn't see why the gods made relationships with mortals at all. Why put so much love into something that will eventually fade before your eyes?

The summer air was soft and sweet, and I breathed deep, staring up at the vivid blue-velvet sky that was littered with stars. I could never name the constellations, and so my eyes instead made random patterns with the bright dots. Under my feet, I could feel the stone path give way to firm dirt, and my gaze drifted downward to face forward once more.

Through the dark shadows of trees, Thalia's Pine was visible, and the glint of gold was so customary that my gaze automatically drifted. But suddenly, there was a shriek, and I was knocked off my feet by a small furry weight. I yelled, flipping in shock and pinning the intruder to the ground. But I released him almost as quickly when I recognized it to be one of the younger satyrs, Jipp.

The satyr was distraught, and my eyes widened when I saw blood staining his fur.

Before I could speak, the creature was sobbing into my shoulder. "Oh gods, you have to help them! There are too many for her to handle alone…they just appeared out of nowhere!"

I was already running toward the pine, knowing that I had no weapon, but also knowing that I had no time to go and find one. The branches scratched at my skin, and I prayed to my father briefly as I sprinted up the hill.

_Please, Dad, help me!_

Thunder rumbled, and I took that as an affirmative.

I burst through the bush, and gasped at the scene before me. The dragon who surrounded the Golden Fleece was snarling and spitting, but unable (and unwilling) to leave its post. There were at least ten monsters, all of them with poisoned blades and with teeth the size of steak knives. Their skin was leathery and tough, with warts the size of my fist and bright silver eyes and horns. I had never seen these kinds of beasties before, which was saying something.

Pale blonde hair caught my eye, and I recognized the Hades girl, feet spread apart as she ferociously defended two young half-bloods from their attackers. How had no one heard the commotion? Why had no one come to help?

I raised my hands, and with a deep sickening pull and a grunt of exertion, two of the monsters fell in a flash of lightning. I stumbled, but recovered after a second, rolling out of the way of a monster swinging his sword. The poison seemed to singe the air, and grabbed a dagger from one of the fallen monsters and used it to stab the charging monster in the forearm. It roared, and I used the second in which it was distracted to finish it off. I heard a rattling rumble, and flinched as a skeleton soldier suddenly lurched past me, icy eyes and a deathly breath chilling me to the bone. I stole a glance at the Hades girl, and she still had her back to me, her blonde hair whipping around her as she sent several stone missiles through her opponent.

A few minutes, the monsters were dead thanks to the girl's dead army of skeletons. It made me wonder why she even needed help. I walked over to the trio, where the Hades girl was still standing facing the mortal world. She was shorter than me by at least five inches, and her shoulders were proud and strong. I had never been this close to her, and it unnerved me. She smelled of nothing. There was no warmth to her, and I took an instinctive step back.

The two children were both male, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Twins, I realized when they both turned with terrified eyes. I knelt beside them, and smiled reassuringly. I heard the sound of Chiron galloping in the distance, and decided to let the centaur give the explanations. I looked up at the Hades girl once more, and suddenly she fell forward, her body limp and unconscious.

It was only when I ran over to her side that I noticed the blood.

It pooled around her form, and when I turned her over I saw the cause. The monster had managed to cut a deep gash across her abdomen, and it was tinged with green. The red was spreading across her gray shirt, soaking through the fabric to my hands and dyeing them the terrible crimson color. Blood was bubbling from her lips, and it was then that the children began to scream.

It took every bit of restraint I had to refrain from joining them.


End file.
